Hamish Fraser

Inquests & Public Inquiries

Hamish regularly appears at both Pre-inquest Review and Inquest hearings, including Article 2 Inquests, for healthcare providers, public bodies, and companies. Recent examples of Hamish’s work include:

• The Cranston Inquiry: Hamish is currently instructed in relation to this inquiry, investigating the deaths of 27 people who lost their lives crossing the Channel in a small boat crossing.
• RT Inquest (Winchester Coroners’ Court, September 2023): week-long jury inquest arising out of the death of a lorry driver who was crushed due to the failure of a hydraulic-powered tail ramp to a trailer. Hamish represented the contractor who maintained and inspected the trailer. It was successfully shown that any defect in the trailer would not have been detectable on a reasonable inspection.
• PB Inquest (Woking Coroners’ Court, January 2023): Acting for council adult social services in relation to the death of a man with motor-neurone disease who was found to be malnourished. Despite a conclusion of neglect in the council’s own Section 42 safeguarding report, the Coroner accepted Hamish’s submissions distinguishing the test for neglect in a Section 42 report and for a finding in a Coroners’ Court. No finding of neglect was accordingly made.
• KB Inquest (Reading Coroners’ Court, January 2023): Acting for the care home in relation to the death of a resident who had developed aspiration pneumonia after PEG feeding.

Selected Cases

News

• Crown Office Chambers longlisted in four categories at Legal Cheek Awards 2025
• Our second six pupils are now accepting instructions

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Articles

• Waiver of disclosure under the Insurance Act 2015
• Defending W&I claims: strategic themes illustrated in Finsbury Foods v Axis & Ors

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Blogs

• Waiver of disclosure under the Insurance Act 2015

Events

• Crown Office Chambers at The National Pupillage Fair 2024
• Crown Office Chambers Pupillage Open Evening

Qualifications

• BPTC (Outstanding), BPP
• GDL (Distinction), City University
• English Language & Literature (First Class), University of Oxford

Awards

• Buchanan Prize for outstanding performance on the BPTC (Lincoln’s Inn, 2020)
• Advocacy Scholarship (BPP, 2019)
• Tancred Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn, 2019)
• Winner, the Crowther Shield for public speaking (Lincoln’s Inn, 2019)
• Winner, the Crown Office Mooting Competition (2018)
• The Janet Quigley Prize for Middle English studies (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, 2016)